This may seem like a pretty hearty meal for the end of April.  But as I said in one of my last posts, it’s been fall/winter here still (with the exception of last weekend).  So when you see something coming from the kitchen that would normally be made in fall or winter, well we’re still sort of stuck in that season here in MN!!

When I find new things to make and it looks good, I am willing to give it a try.  Within my picky people pallet eaters here in the house!  This didn’t have anything that was green or orange or too spicy, so it was a go.  But I do love hearing the question:  ”Is this something new you’re trying here?  And what’s the back up plan if it doesn’t turn out?”  Which really means, what if I don’t like it!!!

Well I don’t usually have a back up plan.  Not that I haven’t messed up a meal or two, but I just don’t usually have a back up plan.  And this was a meal the picky people eaters happened to like.

I loved the way the chicken turned out with the panko crust.  One of my favorite ways to bread chicken!!!  I get nervous frying chicken in a pan because I always feel like I’m going to under cook it, but it turned out great!!!   This was easy to make and had tons of great flavor!!!

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Two Girls Cooking – Patricia

Source

Chef in Training

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

 

Author:

Patricia

Cuisine: Italian

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Ingredients

• 10-12 oz. penne or ziti pasta
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
• ½ tsp. onion powder more or less to taste
• ½ tsp. garlic salt more or less to taste
• 1½ cup shredded swiss cheese separated
• 2 chicken breasts cooked and cut into strips
• ¾ cup bacon cooked and chopped
• ¾ cup diced ham
• bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to its package’s directions. Drain. I always add a little olive oil after I drain it and stir in around so the pasta noodles don’t stick together or the pot.
2. Heat cream cheese on stove over medium low heat until melted. Stir in heavy cream. Stir until completely combined. Add onion powder and garlic salt until it tastes how you would like it to. Stir 1 cup of cheese until smooth consistency.
3. In a 9×13, layer noodles, chicken, bacon and ham. Pour sauce over top. Sprinkle top with ½ cup cheese and bread crumbs.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until heated through.

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3.2.1230

I work from home!   I am very grateful that I get to work from home.  One reason is that I get to make my lunch fresh each day!   It also means that I tend to eat the same things over and over.  I love salads.  And I usually will have a lettuce salad about 4 times per week.  And it gets really old.  I’ve tried making my own dressing to just so that I’m using something on a more healthy side, but still.  It gets to be boring.

I’m a follower of the Chef in Training on Facebook, so when I saw her post, I thought, huh, I have to try this.  I know my family may not eat it, but I will.  And I can have this instead of salad every day this week!  Well a regular salad.

In a large bowl add the  sunflower seeds, coleslaw, chopped green onions and chicken.

Break apart Ramon packets until they are crushed into small pieces. Reserve beef packets for sauce. Add Top Ramon pieces to salad and mix together well.

This next part required me to get out the blender!!!

In blender, combine almond oil, sugar, vinegar and beef packets. Blend until evenly mixed.

The original recipe calls for Peanut Oil.  I shop at Target Super Store and they don’t always carry things that I need.  They had the peanut oil but in a huge gallon jug that I didn’t need.  I looked through the different types of oils and came across the Almond Oil.  It says it gives a sweet flavor for salad dressings so that’s what I went with.  Great flavor.  I have a new favorite lunch (besides Zantigo!!).

Chinese Chicken Salad

 

Author:

Patricia

Recipe type: Salad

Cuisine: Chinese

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Ingredients

• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 (16 oz) bag coleslaw mix
• 2 packages Beef Top Ramon dry, save the packets
• 1 bunch green onions chopped
• 2 cups cooked and diced/shredded chicken
• SAUCE . .
• 1 cup almond oil
• ½ cup sugar
• ⅓ cup white vinegar
• 2 packets beef seasoning from Top Ramon packages listed above

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, add sunflower seeds, coleslaw, chopped green onions and chicken.
2. Break apart Ramon packets with until they are crushed into small pieces. Reserve beef packets for sauce. Add Top Ramon pieces to salad and toss to evenly distribute.
3. In blender, add almond oil, sugar, vinegar and beef packets. Blend until evenly mixed.

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3.2.1230

We have had not much of a Spring here in MN.  This past weekend it got into the 70s and we got to use our grill!!!!!  It’s supposed to drop back into winter again but I’m holding firm on the no socks with shoes from here on out!!!

Two Girls Cooking – Patricia

Source

Chef in Training

We love this side dish. I made it for Easter this year. And that’s where you get the eggs and the basket in the pix. BUT, I’ve made this twice this week so far!! If you use fat free sour cream, you feel a little less guilty! In my thinking, if you find something a a guilty pleasure, then it sure could be this!!!

Creamy Corn Casserole

 

Author:

Two Girls Cooking

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 4-6

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

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Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 (8.5 ounce) package dry corn bread mix
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
• 1 cup sour cream

Instructions

1. Directions
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and lightly grease a 9×9 inch baking dish.
3. In a medium bowl, combine butter, eggs, corn bread mix, whole and creamed corn and sour cream. Spoon mixture into prepared dish.
4. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.

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3.2.1230

On April 2nd, Jodi and I went to the Macy’s Cooking Demonstration with Chef Nancy Silverton.  We got there a bit early because we got the opportunity to interview the Chef before watching her cook for us!  I had my notes all prepared that I wanted to ask her.  I wasn’t sure how much time we had so I just came up with a few.

Let me start there.

We were led back to a room where Chef Nancy was sitting by a table filled with fruits, breads, wine glasses.  She was sitting in a chair and welcomed us as soon as we walked in.  She is a very friendly person and I know I felt comfortable right away (though I was nervous).

Two Girls Cooking:  You started working in a dorm kitchen when you were 18 years old.  Did you expect at that time that you would be a well known chef and cookbook author?

Chef Nancy: NO!! I started working in the kitchen because the guy there was pretty cute!  Then I had this is what I want to do epiphany!!

Two Girls Cooking: Raising kids can be challenging, owning a restaurant can be as well.  How do you manage to balance it all?

Chef Nancy:  You make it work.  You have responsibilities and you know what you need to do.  Back then I had to travel a lot.  They didn’t have technology as they did now.  It made things more difficult.  Being away was hard at times.

Two Girls Cooking:  Who inspired you and why?

Chef Nancy:  Wolf Gang Puck and Alice Waters.  Alice Waters for sure.  She inspired me because of the food she cooked – she was a farmers market enthusiastic.   She was the true pioneer cooker.

Two Girls Cooking:  What is your favorite recipe that you’ve created?

Chef Nancy:  All of my bread recipes.  Breads for La Brea Bakery.  That was my teaching path.

Two Girls Cooking:  What is your advice to women in the food industry?

Chef Nancy:  Take your job seriously and do the best that you can.  You have to do it because you have passion for it.  Do it for the right reasons.

We had some small talk discussions during each question.  It was very interesting to hear how she made her way from the 18 year old dorm kitchen worker to a renowned Chef and Pizzeria owner, and not just one!

After the interview Chef Nancy signed a copy of her latest cook book “The Mozza Cookbook“.  That was a very nice surprise.  Jodi and I thought that we were going to have to pay for the book and then wait in line to have it signed!  It felt very personal (at least for me it did!!).  She took time to meet with a few chosen bloggers and then signed her book for us.  That is something Jodi and I will remember.

We gave our gratitude to Nancy and were led back to the Home Department in Macy’s.  We got signed in, were given our badges and found reserved seats right in the front row!!  We put our jackets down to save our seats and we wandered around looking for something to buy so that we could get another cookbook so that we could share with our readers a signed copy.  We’ll get to that in a bit!

Here’s a picture of Jodi and me standing by the cooking area where Chef Nancy will give her demonstration.

We had about 30 minutes to walk around until, finally the moment came that we had been waiting for!

We started off with Nick’s Kumquat Acqua Fresca (this was really refreshing – it has basil leaves and cucumber slices in it!).

Next was the Lemon Vinaigrette that went the Kale Salad.

I don’t think that either Jodi and I were fans of anchovies, but I have to say that I really didn’t mind eating this salad knowing I’d be eating that.  The salad had great flavor!

Next we watched Sweet Gem Lettuce w/Bufala Mozzarella, Cucumber & Yogurt.

The best way to incorporate the dressing is to use your hands.  We wanted to ask what Chef’s favorite kitchen utensils were but forgot!  We were glad that she told us during this demo.  Her first favorite kitchen item is the micro plane.  (I had to ask Jodi because I could not remember the name of this thing!!).  And the 2nd is her hands.  She said that is the best way to make sure that each piece of lettuce is getting coated with the dressing.  Using tongs won’t touch each piece!

This salad was SO good.

Out of all the recipes that we got to watch and taste, this is one I will make.  I haven’t gotten through the cookbook yet to make something new, but this one I know will be good.  I’m not sure if I’ll find the Sweet Gem Lettuce, but it’s worth searching!  She did say if you couldn’t find the Sweet Gem you could substitute it with Romaine lettuce.  Not sure if it would be the same for me since I’ve tasted it!  Just watching her cut the lettuce was fascinating to me!!

And finally we watched her prepare our dessert.  Rosemary-Pine Nut Cookies.

I’m a huge, huge fan of Pine Nuts.  I love them in my pasta sauce.  I love them in salads.  But I have never even thought to put them in a cookie along with Rosemary. I’ve never thought to put any herb or that type of a nut in anything sweet!  Trying to be optimistic about this cookie I watched her make it.  Knowing in my head that it was going to be a nice surprise.

So good.  I think I may try these as well.  I have to say I really didn’t think I’d like the Rosemary on there.  But it gave it a great flavor.  And who am I to doubt a chef?  A chef that has cookbooks and owns more than one restaurant!

Here are some pictures of her cooking:

After we got to taste this awesome food, we got in line to get our cookbook signed for our give away!!

I noticed that no one was asking if they could have their picture taken with her.  But those that know me know I’m not shy.  I wanted my picture taken with her and so I had to ask!!

Those of my Stella & Dot followers will notice that I have the beautiful Gitane necklace paired with the Interlock Cross (yeah I had to go there…sorry)!

It was an honor to interview Chef Nancy, watch her prepare the food and the best was getting to eat what she made for us!  You can really tell that she does have great passion for food.  She truly enjoys what she does!  It shows with every move she makes in the kitchen and the care she puts into each recipe she makes.

Thank you to Macy’s for inviting us to this event.  This is one that we won’t soon forget!

Now..for the giveaway (I purchased a new Pizza Stone in the Home Department to get this cookbook to give away).  There are just a few fun things you have to do.

1.  Like our Facebook page and come back and leave a comment that you did so:  www.facebook.com/CookingGirls2

2.  Like us both on Twitter:  www.twitter.com/godzgirl37 & www.twitter.com/jodi_lee (leave a comment that you’ve done so)

3.  Tell us what inspires you to cook.

4.  Like us both on Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jodi_lee/ & http://pinterest.com/ppeterson43/.  Leave a comment that you’ve done so.

We will pick a winner on Friday, April 12th.  We will use random.org to select the winner.  We will announce it on our FB page and send you out an email.  If we do not hear within 24 hours we will select a new winner.

If you want any of the recipes in full detail, please contact us and let us know.

Thanks for taking the time to share the fun that we had that day!!

Two Girls Cooking – Jodi & Patricia

Thanks to Everywhere Society and the Culinary Council

Thursday’s are taco night in our house.  I decided to switch it up a bit.  Found this recipe for a taco ring and ran to the store to get what I needed!

The kids weren’t too sure on how this was considered a taco!  But really the only difference is the breading for a shell.  I loved it.  The kids loved it.  And when the kids love it that means Nana has a peaceful (or some what peaceful) meal.

I love finding super easy meals to make.  I try to have as much planned for our day after work/school/daycare is over so it runs good.  And having an easy go to meal makes our lives much easier.

Ingredients:

2 crescent roll tubes – I used one large Grande tube and really think I should have followed the directions!!
1 LB ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce
1 or 2 diced tomatoes depending on size – none of these for me please
1/2 small can sliced olives if desired
Sour cream optional
sliced avacado optional

How to:

Lay out the two tubes of crescent pastry, thick sides in. Use some of the left over crescent rolls to to make the center a bit thicker.
Brown beef and add taco seasoning.
Lay beef in a circle inside of the laid out crescent rolls
Add cheese to the top
Pull over crescent rolls and tuck in under meat and cheese.
Add cheese, lettuce, tomato, black olives, sour cream or whatever you desire for your tacos, in the middle.

Follow cook time on the pack of crescent rolls, and once it’s done, you’re good to go!

What was the first thing out of my mouth when I tasted this?  Mmmmmm…..

This was really good!  We ate the entire thing!  Ok I’m sure I had more than half but still  it was good.  Nice taco replacement for our Thursday dinner!

Two Girls Cooking – Patricia

Source

Pillsbury

A couple of years ago, Jodi and I were invited by the Culinary Council at Macy’s to meet Cat Cora!  We were so excited.  We got to meet other fellow bloggers too!

Today we got an invite from Everywhere Social to meet Nancy Silverton at Macy’s, Tuesday, April 2nd at noon.  Nancy is a co-owner of Pizzeria Mozza and Mazza2go  in Los Angeles, as well as Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza in Singapore!!!  How cool is that!  I can’t wait to see her new cookbook, watch her make some recipes and most importantly, we get to sample her cooking!

Nancy Silverton is an American chef and baker. She has authored several cookbooks and has been at the forefront of efforts to revitalize sourdough and artisan breads in the United States.

Getting these opportunities makes being a “foodie” really fun and so worth it!

This is super exciting!  As a blogger, I know I love getting invites to demonstrations like this.  It gives me an opportunity to watch and taste great recipes from a professional!  Watch and taste a professional’s cooking!  I can’t say enough!  Can you sense my excitement!!

I can’t imagine what it would feel like to own pizzerias (more than one!!) AND have several cookbooks.  I have a hard time keeping up with what I’m going to make and blog for in a week!  I enjoy just this simple part of my life but what Nancy does is amazing!  I can’t wait to meet her.

I read a very interesting article about Nancy on Detroit News.   Just makes this even more exciting.  (Plus I get to shop at Macy’s!!!!)

Here are a couple of Nancy’s books:

The Mozza Cookbook is her eight book that she’s written!!!

During the event and book signing we also have the opportunity to see the unique gardens and the beautiful flower display.  If we spend $35 in the in the Home Department, receive a $10 Macy’s gift card and a copy of her book, The Mozza Cookbook, which she will be on hand to sign following the culinary demonstration!

What:  Nancy Silverton Cooking Demonstration

When:  April 2, 2013 at 12pm

Where:  Macy’s Minneapolis, Lower Level
700 On The Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Look for the post next week after meeting Nancy.  I’m sure there will be an awesome recipe that I can give a try and post for you.

I’m hoping to get an extra signed copy of Nancy’s cookbook so that we can have a giveaway!!!

Make sure to stop by on Facebook and like our page Two Girls Cooking Blog!!

Two Girls Cooking – Patricia

I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere provided me with compensation for this post about Macy’s Culinary Council.  However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.

I know it’s that time of the year where most people are baking Easter goodies to put on display.  I have a couple of those that I want to try too, but bread. Bread came to my mind yesterday when I was on Pinterest looking for Easter fun things and I saw a tomato basil twist flavored.  Then cinnamon was on my mind.  Why?  Well because I’m not a tomato fan.   Though I’m sure it would be just fine, I chose the sweet bread instead.

Making bread takes a long time.  You have sit and wait for it to rise.  Not once but twice.  Now how does that work with a person that is working on their patience skills?  Not well.  I have to set the timer and walk away.  Good thing The Voice was on last night!  I loved seeing Usher on there!!!!  Ok, here’s what you do!!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Preparation:

Ok so the caption says Spring on the photo!  Technically it’s Spring here in MN.  However, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that it included the state with 10,000 lakes.  Today I think we may have hit 30 degrees, but it’s cold out.  There’s a ton of snow on the ground.  The kids actually had Spring pictures at school this week.  I wasn’t sure if I should dress them in a sweater or go for the “warm outside look even though it’s not”!!!!

Anyways, I had some extra time on  lunch break today so I decided to make the Lemonade cupcakes I had sitting in my cupboard.  I usually try to do these kinds of baking fun stuff when the kids are home, but I went against that today and made them alone.

These were home made, just not home made in the real sense.  I made them at home but the mix came from a box!!  And so did the frosting!!  Sometimes a girls has to do what a girl has to do.  And I’m not a trial and error kind of person when it comes to baking AT ALL.  Some day maybe, but I’ll leave that to my other cooking/baking buddy (if she ever finds herself back on here again uh hmmmm..).  I’ll do it with cooking and trying new dinners, but not this.

These are super pretty, super Springy, super easy.  How can’t they be..Just open the box, follow the directions and you have your house smelling good!

I used a box of Better Crocker Pink Lemonade Cake mix.  Used the ingredients on the back of the box.  Filled my pipping tool with store bought whipped frosting and tried my hardest to get it on there half way decent!!

For those of you that live in the warmer parts of the country/world, Happy Spring.  For those of us that are here in MN or any other state that is cold enough to keep snow on the ground until June, well happy Marchember!

Two Girls Cooking – Patricia

Source

Betty Crocker Box cake mix

We love, love having breakfast for dinner.  Brinner as I heard it called before!!!  So I happened to find a baked pancake recipe.

I always find recipes that use those heavy cast iron skillets that my grandma used to fry her chicken in, but I didn’t have one.  Now I do thanks to this recipe.  I finally went and got one!!

As you can see from Brooklyn’s thumbs up, she liked them.  Because the ingredients didn’t have much flavor to it, I decided to do two things.  I added a bit of cinnamon to the ingredients and I also used a box (gasp, I know) of pancake mix just in case.  As a back up plan.  We can’t have hungry kids here you know!

Here is the skillet baked pancake topped with some powdered sugar.

Here’s Khali’s approval.

And since this is actually going into his mouth, he approved as well!!

Now I made the second baked one in a 9×3 baking dish.

Those were pretty good.  I added some syrup and powdered sugar as well.  But they could have been eaten by themselves!  Either way, both the skillet and the pan were gone by the end of dinner!  To me that equals success.

These were very light.  Next time I may add some fruit to it.  I didn’t this time because I wasn’t sure if it would still rise the way it should.  Good dinner.  Or brinner shall I say!!

Ingredients

2 cups pancake mix (I used blueberry)

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 egg

2 tbs cooking oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl stir together pancake mix, milk, egg, cooking oil & cinnamon. (batter will have small lumps)
• Stir in the blueberries, chocolate chips or bacon if desired. Pour into a greased 9×13 inch baking dish.
• Bake about 10 minutes or until done. Cut into squares and serve with butter & syrup/powder sugar.

Next recipe:
Ingredients:
2 eggs
½ cup milk (2% and whole both work well)
½ cup flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter, cut into a few pieces

Directions

Heat the oven to 425, then put the pan in to heat while you prepare the batter. A 10- or 12-inch oven-proof skillet is ideal, but you could use a comparably-sized baking dish.

Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl.  Then add the milk, flour, and salt.

By now your pan should be very hot. Add the butter to it by tossing it into the cracked oven door and letting it sit in there a couple of seconds, then remove the pan from the oven and swirl it so that the butter is melted and sizzling wildly. You need to do all this quite quickly because you don’t want the oven to lose its heat, you don’t want the pan to cool off, and you don’t want the butter to burn. Now pour the batter into the buttery pan and return it the oven. Set your timer for 15 minutes and check to see if it’s puffed and brown.  Mine wasn’t quite so puffed but it was a golden brown.

Happy Brinner cooking!

Two Girls Cooking – Patricia

Sources:

Family Go

Group Recipes

This past weekend I was in the mood to do baking.  I had seen a picture online somewhere of pull apart cookies.  I googled and searched all over for a recipe and could not find one.  I thought I had saved the recipe to my bookmarks, but I did not.

I went to the store and was trying to think of what type of cookie to make.  I saw the Reece’s bag and thought this was a good one to try.  I did use my first batch in a glass baking dish for the pull apart cookies.

They looked as though they turned out good, but when I tried to pull them apart, the middle was a bit undercooked or gooey!!  So I made the rest of the dough into cookies!!!

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup Hershey Cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 and 1/4 cup (2 – 1/2 sticks)butter  or margarine, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 and 2/3 cups (10 0z pkg) Reece’s Peanut Butter Chips

How to:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with mixer until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.  Gradually add flour mixture, beating well.   Stir in peanut butter chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased  cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes (do not overbake, cookies will be soft).  They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling (which I didn’t realize until reading through the package directions the 2nd time).  Cool completely.

This was a great chocolate cookie.  I wondered what it would taste like without the cocoa in it.  I’ll try next time and see what the outcome is.  I know I’ve searched for white cocoa (not even sure if it exists – the baker that I am) but I bet it’s just as good!

 I felt like I was dipping my chocolate in a jar of peanut butter.  These were pretty good.

Great treat.  They were nice and chewy too!  I hope I run across the pull apart cookie recipe again.  Or if someone knows of a recipe, let me know.

Have a great week.

Two Girls Cooking – Two Girls Cooking

Source

Reece’s Peanut Butter Chip package